Basic Concepts in Biochemistry a Students Survival Guide 2d Ed - Hiram F. Gilbert
BASIC CONCEPTS IN
BIOCHEMISTRY
A STUDENT'S SURVIVAL GUIDE
Second Edition
HIRAM F. GILBERT, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas
McGraw-Hill
Health Professions Division New York St. Louis San Francisco Auckland Bogotá Caracas Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal New Delhi San Juan Singapore Sydney Tokyo Toronto
• • • • • • • • • • • •
BASIC CONCEPTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY, 2/E Copyright © 2000, 1992 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 1234567890 DOCDOC 99 ISBN 0-07-135657-6 This book was set in Times Roman by Better Graphics, Inc. The editors were Steve Zollo and Barbara Holton; the production supervisor was Richard Ruzycka; the index was prepared by Jerry Ralya. R. R. Donnelley and Sons was the printer and binder. This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file for this book at the Library of Congress.
•
P
R
O
L
O
G
U
E
•
Basic Concepts in Biochemistry: A Student’s Survival Guide is not a conventional book: It is not a review book or a textbook or a problem book. It is a book that offers help in two different ways—help in understanding the concepts of biochemistry and help in organizing your attack on the subject and minimizing the subject’s attack on you. This book presents what are often viewed as the more difficult concepts in an introductory biochemistry course and describes them in enough detail and in simple enough language to make them understandable. We surveyed first- and second-year medical students at a national student meeting asking them to list, in order, the parts of biochemistry they found most difficult to
BIOCHEMISTRY
A STUDENT'S SURVIVAL GUIDE
Second Edition
HIRAM F. GILBERT, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas
McGraw-Hill
Health Professions Division New York St. Louis San Francisco Auckland Bogotá Caracas Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal New Delhi San Juan Singapore Sydney Tokyo Toronto
• • • • • • • • • • • •
BASIC CONCEPTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY, 2/E Copyright © 2000, 1992 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 1234567890 DOCDOC 99 ISBN 0-07-135657-6 This book was set in Times Roman by Better Graphics, Inc. The editors were Steve Zollo and Barbara Holton; the production supervisor was Richard Ruzycka; the index was prepared by Jerry Ralya. R. R. Donnelley and Sons was the printer and binder. This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file for this book at the Library of Congress.
•
P
R
O
L
O
G
U
E
•
Basic Concepts in Biochemistry: A Student’s Survival Guide is not a conventional book: It is not a review book or a textbook or a problem book. It is a book that offers help in two different ways—help in understanding the concepts of biochemistry and help in organizing your attack on the subject and minimizing the subject’s attack on you. This book presents what are often viewed as the more difficult concepts in an introductory biochemistry course and describes them in enough detail and in simple enough language to make them understandable. We surveyed first- and second-year medical students at a national student meeting asking them to list, in order, the parts of biochemistry they found most difficult to